Difference between revisions of "Child Support Guidelines"

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#the payor works in the service industry, for example as a restaurant server or a taxi driver, and receives tip income that is not reported on income tax returns,
#the payor works in the service industry, for example as a restaurant server or a taxi driver, and receives tip income that is not reported on income tax returns,
#the payor is intentionally unemployed or under-employed (i.e. not working to their full skills and capacity),
#the payor has quit or been fired from his or her job,
#the payor has quit or been fired from his or her job,
#the payor moves from full- to part-time work without a very good reason,
#the payor moves from full- to part-time work without a very good reason,
#the payor is self-employed and either receives unpaid benefits from his or her company (like a company car, paid meals or a free cell phone), or doesn't report the full amount of money taken from the company,
#the payor is self-employed and either receives unpaid benefits from his or her company (like a company car, paid meals or a free cell phone), or doesn't report the full amount of money taken from the company,
#the payor has refused to provide full and complete financial disclosure, or
#the payor has refused to provide full and complete financial disclosure, or
#the payor has or will have income from a trust.
#the payor has or will have income from a trust,
#the payor has hidden or appears to have hidden some of his or her income, and
#the payor is not using resources at hand that could generate income, such as a vacant house that could be rented out or savings that could be invested.


If the court decides to impute income to a payor, child support will be payable at the Guidelines rate for the higher income. The parties' proportionate responsibility to contribute to the cost of any qualifying special and/or extraordinary expenses may be based on imputed income, including income imputed to the recipient.
If the court decides to impute income to a payor, child support will be payable at the Guidelines rate for the higher income. The parties' proportionate responsibility to contribute to the cost of any qualifying special and/or extraordinary expenses may be based on imputed income, including income imputed to the recipient.


The court can decide to impute income for the purposes of calculating child support in other circumstances, such as when the payor is underemployed and unemployed, is income splitting with a new partner, or lives in a place with a lower tax rate than usual.
The court can decide to impute income for the purposes of calculating child support in other circumstances, such as when the payor is underemployed or unemployed, is income splitting with a new partner, or lives in a place with a lower tax rate than usual.


===Underemployment and unemployment===
===Underemployment and unemployment===
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#the payor has quit a job in order to avoid paying child support,
#the payor has quit a job in order to avoid paying child support,
#the payor has taken lower-paying work than he or she used to have, or is capable of holding, in order to minimize the amount of child support payable,
#the payor has taken lower-paying work than he or she used to have, or is capable of holding, in order to minimize the amount of child support payable, and
#the payor has hidden or appears to have hidden some of his or her income,
#the payor is not using resources at hand that could generate income, such as a vacant house that could be rented out or savings that could be invested, or
#the payor has tried to reduce his or her income by claiming unreasonable deductions.
#the payor has tried to reduce his or her income by claiming unreasonable deductions.


If you are going to make an argument that income should be imputed to someone, you will have to prove that one or more of the conditions described in s. 19(1) exist. In the case of underemployment or unemployment, you will also have to show that the payor has acted in ''bad faith'', and is unemployed or underemployed intentionally. If a party's underemployment or unemployment is caused by child care responsibilities, the court will not usually impute income.
If you are going to make an argument that income should be imputed to someone, you will have to prove that one or more of the conditions described in s. 19(1) exist. If a party's underemployment or unemployment is caused by child care responsibilities, the court will not usually impute income.


It's not enough merely to ''argue'' that one of the conditions listed in s. 19(1) exist, you have to be able to ''provide evidence'' that the condition exists. The following factors were cited by the court in a 2003 Supreme Court case, ''[http://canlii.ca/t/1pt18 Nahu v. Chertkow]'', 2003 BCSC 1285 in determining whether a payor is intentionally underemployed or unemployed:
It's not enough merely to ''argue'' that one of the conditions listed in s. 19(1) exist, you have to be able to ''provide evidence'' that the condition exists. The following factors were cited by the court in a 2003 Supreme Court case, ''[http://canlii.ca/t/1pt18 Nahu v. Chertkow]'', 2003 BCSC 1285 in determining whether a payor is intentionally underemployed or unemployed:

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